Ighalo’s pinching himself
Debut delight for Dutchman
to a second caution – this time no arguments. Three minutes later, Spurs were ahead thanks to one of those moments that football matches used to be remembered for before VAR.
Steven Bergwijn, thrown straight into action after his £27m move this week, took a ball from Lucas Moura neatly on his chest and thrashed a volley into the far corner. The stuff of which dream debuts are made.
He limped off with cramp to a standing ovation but had barely got to his seat before Heung-min Son doubled the lead, his low shot deflecting off Fernandinho to wrong-foot Ederson.
Tottenham were winning, Mourinho was smiling and suddenly it did not matter how.
Forgotten was the fact that Tottenham were a pale shadow of the team that took on Pep Guardiola’s team in the Champions League semi-final barely nine months ago. While numbers were even, they looked locked within their shells waiting for City to break them down, which but for the superb Lloris and the thickness of the post might have happened within the opening half-hour.
The bigger questions though must be going through Guardiola’s mind. Even with 10 men, his City side might have dug deep to hide the shortfall, especially during last season’s remarkable run-in.
Nobody, however, took grip of the game. Nobody really threatened to keep Tottenham pinned on the back foot and too much of the time they seemed to be ready simply to accept that fate.
Which is why perhaps, that fate this season is now unquestionably to limp in miles behind the more worthy league champions. players because I know them.
“We lost the game so we talked about how to move forward and keep going. There’s a lot of months to play and try to do it.
“If I would find the solution I would try to work on that.”
The turning point came on the hour when Oleksandr Zinchenko was sent off for a second yellow card offence.
Mourinho was convinced City should have spent longer with 10 men, but a studsup challenge by Raheem Sterling on Dele Alli after 13 minutes was deemed not to be a red card by VAR Kevin Friend.
“I know Mike Dean has a difficult job on the pitch because everything goes at 200 mph,” Mourinho said. “The problem is not Mike Dean, it is VAR.
“Only Kevin Friend can explain why it was not a red card. He has the chance to watch again. That decision would change the game.”
Bergwijn scored the opener and said: “It’s a dream come true.
“As a little kid I wanted to be here and play in the Premier League, so to score on my debut is unbelievable.”
ODION IGHALO admits he is living the dream after joining Manchester United.
Ighalo, 30, has signed on a six-month loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua in what was the biggest shock of the transfer window.
The former Watford striker flew in from China to Manchester yesterday and will join the United squad on their warm weather trip to Spain later this week.
United were mocked and labelled desperate for signing the Nigerian.
His agent revealed they only started to show genuine interest in signing him at 3pm on Friday.
Ighalo said: “It’s been crazy but I’m happy to be in Manchester first and this is a great opportunity for me.
“It’s a dream come true because since I was a kid I’ve always dreamed about Manchester United.”
The Red Devils are understood to have no issues with injured Marcus Rashford’s trip to Miami to watch last night’s Super Bowl.